What to do When Your Furnace Won’t Turn On

It might appear stressful to troubleshoot your furnace when your heat won’t run. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

You could be able to skip a furnace repair call with our DIY troubleshooting guide. You don’t need any technical skills. And most of these fixes are quick and low-cost (or even free).

This list will walk you through how to fix your furnace when it won’t start, won’t stay on or won’t light.

When you require a pro in Roblin, Russel & Wawanesa Areas, Super Plumbing and Heating can lend a hand.

Schedule service now

We work on most makes and models of furnaces. If you need a new heating system, we also offer furnace replacement and furnace installation.

Furnace breakdowns are generally caused by forgotten routine maintenance. These checkups often disclose a high-cost problem before it gets worse—and causes your HVAC system to stop working.

During this service, our certified professionals will thoroughly inspect your furnace, make sure it’s working properly and lubricate moving parts. A well-managed furnace often lasts longer and operates more efficiently, saving you more on your heating costs.

Ready to start troubleshooting your furnace? Follow our step-by-step guide below.

 

Inspect Your Thermostat

Start by looking at your thermostat. Is it telling your furnace to start?

If you have a digital thermostat:

• Switch out the batteries if the screen is blank. If the digital screen is scrambled, you may need a different thermostat.
• See if that the switch is set to “heat” instead of “off” or “cool.”
• Look to see if the program is presenting the current day and time and is set to “run.” If you can’t override the program, fix the temperature by pushing the up/down arrows and press the “hold” button. This will force the furnace to start if thermostat programming is causing a problem.
• Set the temp to 5 degrees warmer than the room’s temperature.

Your furnace should turn on shortly. If it doesn’t, double check that it has power by sliding the fan switch from “auto” to “on.” If the fan doesn’t run right away, your furnace may not have access to power.

 

If you’re connected to a Wi-Fi thermostat—like one made by Nest, Ecobee, Lux, Honeywell or Bosch—turn to the manufacturer’s website for guidelines. If you can’t get your smart thermostat to work, call us at 204-937-2642 in Roblin, Russel & area or 431-876-2642 in Wawanesa and area for assistance.

 

Check Breakers and Switches

Next, you will want to make sure your breakers and furnace switch are on.

• Go to your house’s main electrical panel. It’s the gray metal box on the wall in your basement, garage or closet.
• Dry off your hands and feet before touching the panel or breakers.
• Pinpoint the breaker labeled “furnace” or “heat” and confirm that it’s switched in the “on” position. If the breaker has tripped, it will be in the midpoint or “off” position.
• With one hand, firmly move the breaker to the “on” position. If the breaker trips and pops back to “off” after you do this, leave it alone. Contact an expert from Super Plumbing and Heating at 204-937-2642 in Roblin, Russel & area or 431-876-2642 in Wawanesa and area right away.

Your furnace has at least one wall switch located on or near it—no matter how old it is or who made it.

• This switch should be flipped up in the “on” position. It can take your furnace up to five minutes to kick on if the switch was off. (Not sure where to find your furnace? Look in your basement, garage or utility closet. It could also be in a crawl space or attic.)

Replace Your Air Filter

Dirty, clogged air filters often generate issues that are easily avoidable.

• Your furnace can overheat and shut down too soon, due to dust in the filter hampering airflow.
• Your energy bills could get more expensive, because your furnace is starting up more often.
• Your furnace may not last as long, because it has to work harder.
• Your furnace could lose power, because an excessively dirty filter can cause the breaker to trip.

You can get to your air filter inside your furnace’s blower component, attached filter case or wall-mounted return air grille. Its position depends upon what kind of furnace you have.

When replacing your filter:

• Turn off your furnace completely.
• Pull out the filter, hold it up to the light and look through it. Get a new filter if you can’t see light through it.
• Put in the new filter with the arrow pointing toward the furnace to avoid damage.

To make the process simpler in the future, use a permanent marker on your furnace housing or ductwork to indicate the airflow direction and filter size.

We advise replacing flat filters monthly. Pleated filters usually last about three months. You can also get a washable filter that will work for about 10 years.

If you have children or pets, you may need to replace your filter more often.

Super Plumbing and Heating stocks common filter sizes in-house. Give us a call today to order your replacement furnace filters!

Look at Your Condensate Pan

Condensate pans, or drain pans, capture water your furnace pulls from the air.

Follow these steps if your furnace is leaking water or there’s standing water in the pan.

• If your pan has a PVC pipe/drain: Check that it’s clear. If it’s not, you can use a special pan-cleaning tablet from a home improvement or hardware store.
• If your pan has a pump: Find the float switch. If the switch is “up” and there’s water in the pan, call us at 204-937-2642 in Roblin, Russel & area or 431-876-2642 in Wawanesa and area. You will likely need a new pump.

Check Inside Your Furnace

You can check the condition of your furnace’s blower motor by looking inside the plastic window. Depending on the type, this light could be placed on the outside of your furnace.

Call us at 204-937-2642 in Roblin, Russel & area or 431-876-2642 in Wawanesa and area if you see anything other than a solid, colored light or blinking green light. Your furnace is probably giving an error code that needs professional help.

Clean Your Flame Sensor

Is your furnace trying to start but shutting down without generating heat? A filthy flame sensor could be to blame. When this takes place, your furnace will try to start three times. Then, a safety feature will shut it down for about an hour.

You can clean the flame sensor yourself if you feel alright opening up your furnace. We can also do it for you.

Want to tackle cleaning the sensor yourself? You’ll need the following:

• A 1/4” hex screwdriver or wrench
• Piece of light-grit sandpaper, steel wool or emery cloth
• A dry, clean paper towel

Next:

• Use your furnace’s wall switch or breaker to turn off the power. Shut off the gas also if your gas valve is not electric.
• Open your furnace’s front panel and follow the wire to the flame sensor, which looks like a thin, bent rod.
• Unscrew the rod and use your sandpaper, steel wool or emery cloth to gently clean the metal rod.
• Use a paper towel to wipe off the rod.
• Put back the sensor.
• Put your furnace’s doors back on.
• Turn the furnace’s power back on. Your furnace may run through a series of checks before it starts normally. If it doesn’t turn on, the sensor might need to be updated. Or something else could be the issue. Call us at 204-937-2642 in Roblin, Russel & area or 431-876-2642 in Wawanesa and area for assistance if this happens.

Relight the Pilot Light

If your furnace is an older style, its pilot light could be out. Relight it following the instructions on the label. You can locate the label on your furnace’s doors.

Or you can follow these steps:

• Locate the switch on the bottom of your furnace labeled “pilot,” “on” and “off.”
• Rotate the switch to the “off” position.
• Wait at least five minutes. This avoids the possibility of starting a fire.
• Move the knob to “pilot.”
• Hold down the “reset” button as you move the flame of a long lighter to the pilot light opening.
• Stop holding the “reset” button once the pilot light is lit.

Call us at 204-937-2642 in Roblin, Russel & area or 431-876-2642 in Wawanesa and area if you’ve followed the guide twice and the pilot won’t light or stay lit.

Check Your Fuel Source

Are other gas appliances working? If they’re not, your natural gas service could be off. Or you could be out of propane.

We Can Diagnose Furnace Problems

Made it through our troubleshooting guide but your furnace still won’t start?

Call us today at 204-937-2642 in Roblin, Russel & area or 431-876-2642 in Wawanesa and area or contact us online. We’ll come out to your home and find out what’s wrong.